Milton Keynes International Festival is back from Friday 18 to Sunday 27 July 2025 — and this year’s celebration is bursting with imagination, colour, and fun for all ages. With two free Family Focus Weekends, ticketed shows in the Spiegeltent, and interactive art installations around the city, there’s something for every curious mind and energetic child. Here are five family favourites you won’t want to miss:

1. Gandini Juggling’s First-Ever Children’s Show: You Too Can Tutu
Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 July – MK Rose, Campbell Park
Blending ballet and juggling in a playful explosion of movement and colour, You Too Can Tutu is Gandini Juggling’s whimsical debut for children. Watch colourful pointe shoes and vibrant juggling balls swirl to an uplifting soundtrack in this joyful spectacle — presented in a double bill with SAY’s the album: skool edition, a dance-packed celebration of beats and high-energy moves.

2. Bamboo by NoFit State Circus
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 July – Campbell Park & Queen’s Court
Breathtaking and gravity-defying, Bamboo sees a talented troupe construct a towering bamboo sculpture before your eyes — and then climb it! Expect a fusion of circus acrobatics, comedy, and poetic visuals in this awe-inspiring outdoor performance that turns sticks and strength into storytelling.

3. Powder Writing Robot: Nyx Returns
Thursday 24 & Friday 25 July – Campbell Park & centre:mk
Back by popular demand, Gijs van Bon’s glowing, powder-writing robot Nyx glides through Milton Keynes, leaving poetic trails behind. This year, Nyx writes a brand-new poem by award-winning poet Maureen Onwunali. Children and grown-ups alike will be mesmerised by this luminous mix of tech and art under the stars.

4. The Heroic Hen of Space Chickens
Saturday 26 July – Festival Central, Campbell Park
From Half A String, the creators of The Lost Colour, comes Space Chickens — the story of Earth’s most unlikely hero: a brave chicken launched into space to save the world! Packed with puppetry, quirky storytelling, and imagination, this surreal adventure will have young audiences in stitches (and rooting for poultry-powered peace).

5. Get Noisy at Noisy Noise Noise
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 July – Multiple locations
Children are encouraged to be loud at Noisy Noise Noise, an interactive sound library of over 90 books that squawk, sing, burp, and giggle when opened. From memes to music to the outright silly, this is one for curious hands and even louder voices.

🎟️ Some events are ticketed – early booking recommended!
Explore the full family programme and book tickets here: ifmiltonkeynes.org

Whether you’re discovering space-faring chickens, dancing with a mouse DJ, or solving puzzles in Campbell Park, IF: Milton Keynes 2025 promises unforgettable summer fun for families of all shapes and sizes.

🕊️ Want to get hands-on? Try the paper dove-making workshops happening daily at centre:mk — no booking required, all materials supplied!